Article II, Section 1

Clause 1 This clause gives the President executive power, which is the power to enforce laws and administer public policies. The term length for a president is set at four years, although no limit on terms is mentioned. The Vice President will be elected for a term of equal length to the President.

Clause 2 Each state will appoint a number of electors equal to their number of members of Congress through a process to be determined by each individual state. No Senator or Representative, or person holding a public office may be appointed an elector. Today, these electors are called the electoral college.

Clause 3 This clause is now null and void as it was replaced by the 12th Amendment.

Clause 4 Congress can set the date for each state to chose electors and the date on which electors will cast their votes for President and Vice President. These two dates must be uniform throughout the entire country. The date for choosing electors has been set as the Tuesday after the first Monday in November every fourth year. Electoral votes are to be cast on the Monday after the second Wednesday in December of the same year.

Clause 5 The President must be a natural born citizen of the United States or have been a resident of the United States at the time the Constitution was ratified. A President must also be at least thirty-five years old. Also, the President must have been a resident of the United States for at least fourteen years.

Clause 6 Congress has the power to provide for the filling of a presidential vacancy should the president die or become unable to fulfill his office. The 25th Amendment expressly states how Congress shall handle any such situation.

Clause 7 The President shall receive a salary to be determined by Congress that cannot be increased or decreased during any elected term. He may not receive any additional compensation from the United States or any individual state.

Clause 8 This clause establishes the presidential oath that shall be taken before he officially takes office as being: "I do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and will, to the best of my ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States. "

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© Copyright 1997 Jonathan Chin & Alan Stern